The Canadian Premier League inaugural match was the first soccer match in the history of the Canadian Premier League (CPL). It was played April 27, 2019, in Hamilton, Ontario, before 17,611 fans between Forge FC and York9 FC (now known as York United FC). It was the first match of the 905 Derby.
The match ended as a 1–1 draw. Ryan Telfer scored the CPL's first goal for York9 in the 3rd minute; Forge substitute Kadell Thomas equalized for Forge in the 78th minute.
Forge owner Bob Young later announced a 'Soccer Unites Hamilton' initiative that saw Tim Hortons Field's capacity increased from its 10,016 capacity for regular Forge matches to beyond the stadium's full seated capacity of 23,218 seats for this match only, and that this match would be free to attend.[5][6]
Broadcasting
The match was broadcast on OneSoccer, which aired all matches of the 2019 season.[7][8] It was also broadcast on CBC TV as the first of 10 CPL matches broadcast on the network that season, and streamed on CBCSports.ca as the first of 20 matches that season.[8][9]
Match
Summary
A few days before the match, CPL commissioner David Clanachan predicted 25,000 fans would take in the match.[10] Ultimately, 17,611 fans were in attendance. Both teams started nine Canadian players; league rules required a minimum of only six each.[11]
York9 captain Manny Aparicio picked up an automatic suspension for his red card.[16] Forge captain Kyle Bekker was later suspended for two matches and fined an undisclosed amount for his elbow to Joseph Di Chiara that had gone unpenalized during the match.[15] The first win in CPL history came the next day when Pacific FC defeated HFX Wanderers FC 1–0 in its home opener.[17]
In league play, Forge finished second in the CPL's spring and fall seasons and went on to become the CPL's first champions by defeating Cavalry FC in the 2019 Canadian Premier League finals.[18][19] York9 finished sixth in the CPL's spring season and third in the fall season.[18]
